Julie from USA

Julie Genser, photographer, writer and certified holistic health counselor creeated Planet Thrive. Her life was derailed by extensive food and chemical sensitivities brought on by multiple exposures to environmental toxins.

She gave this interview in November of 2006.






How and when did you get MCS?


I became aware I had MCS in September 2004 during a nightmare that unfolded in Washington state and Arizona, where I had gone to study sustainable architecture for a few months. Local conditions—mold, local pollen, daily controlled forest fire burnings, pesticides—brought on severe MCS and I had to drop out of the program after a month. My mother had to come out and fly back with me because I would not go on a plane alone. The suddenness and severity of my symptoms, coupled with the fact that I was alone in a new environment with no social support to help me deal with it was enough to cause Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.


But now I can see the signs were there for years before. I had mercury and arsenic poisoning in the mid-90s but wasn’t diagnosed until 2001 even though I had the classic symptoms. Then in 1998 I was exposed to toxic fumes in a garbage dump fire in Mexico. I developed extensive and severe food allergies a month later, overnight. This is when I became aware I had a systemic problem but was still relying on allopathic medicine to diagnose and treat me. I was in NYC for 9/11 and that also had a deep impact on my health. I lived relatively close to ground zero and the air quality was terrible for months. I started noticing seemingly isolated chemical sensitivities that I had never had before after that.


First it was a reaction to a latex hot water bottle. Then I had an allergic reaction to topical Aloe Vera on my face. Eventually it was to things like wool and synthetic materials in bedding. My sense of smell was very reduced for about 10 years and then around 2003 it started to come back stronger than before. By the time I left NYC in the summer of 2004, I knew I was becoming very sensitive to chemicals but I hadn’t yet embraced the terms MCS or EI for myself. Hearing a diagnosis of Environmental Illness from a local doctor in Arizona was heartbreaking and scary.




What inspired you to create Planet Thrive?


Planet Thrive began as a small idea probably around 2002. It came out of my own struggles to research my health conditions online and find anecdotal information and support from others that were dealing with the same issues. But it was the website Friendster.com that actually caused the germination of the idea. I started thinking…what if there was a site that did this, but for people like me, searching for answers to mystery health issues that doctors couldn’t help with? Instead of connecting people with similar interests, it would connect people with similar symptoms! That was exciting to me and I slowly started to build on my idea.



What's the purpose of Planet Thrive?


Planet Thrive has several intentions, which are laid out in our mission statement. Basically, we strive to harness the collective intelligence that comes from the lessons illness brings us.


The first is to provide an extensive library of first-hand, anecdotal experience with both alternative and conventional healing methods.


Another is to offer emotional support and opportunities for connection to those on a healing path


One of our underlying goals is to encourage home businesses that put human, animal, and environmental health before profits


Ultimately, we want to help educate and inspire others to lead healthier, richer, more fulfilling lives, in harmony with the universe.




What advice do you have for people thinking of starting an Internet group?


Do your research and make sure you are providing a service that is not currently being offered elsewhere. Try to find partners who can share the workload and financial investment, as well as inspire each other to keep going. Believe in your dream, and in your ability to make it happen. Think about the big picture, but take the implementation one day at a time otherwise it might be too overwhelming. Remember that small steps will always add up to big steps.




What is the hardest thing about maintaining Planet Thrive?


It is a lot of work for me personally, on a daily basis. Some days I just don’t feel like doing anything, or my health doesn’t allow it. It would be great for me to have a team of people who were helping input data and maintain the site, and to help inspire me to be productive on a consistent basis.



Do you have people helping you?


I developed, built, and maintain this site on my own. The first few years, I pretty much worked in a vacuum, while I was isolated due to my MCS and had nothing to do all day. I focused on developing my site. As the project grew and became more of a reality, I started sharing my enthusiasm and passion with others. I began to involve other people in the process. So lots of people have helped me along the way and the site would not be possible without their collective help. The company I bought my software from has been unbelievably supportive and helpful on a daily basis—the site would just not exist without them. I have a wonderful team of lawyers providing pro bono (free) legal services. My dad offers advice on business and tax issues. Friends and family have provided feedback on design and content throughout the whole process. A member who has become a friend is helping me with some data input. I have been very blessed in this respect.


What have you learned about yourself from creating Planet Thrive?


I learned that it pays to listen to my inner self; my beliefs, my value system, and that I have something important to share with the world. When we stifle our own voice in order to fit into a society that doesn’t make sense to us, we not only support the disease process in ourselves, but we hurt the planet as a whole. We each owe it to ourselves and to the world to speak our truth.



What helps you thrive?


I recently moved near the ocean from one of the most toxic cities (NYC) and being so close to a body of water keeps me grounded and connected to spirit.


Eating an organic diet and preparing all of my meals nourishes both my body and soul.


Finding connection with like-minded people feeds me like nothing else.


Feeling the sun on my face and body saturates me with healing energy.


Having a vehicle like Planet Thrive to help me contribute to the world in some way makes me feel productive and gives great meaning to my life.



What helps you get through difficult times?


Creating Planet Thrive has kept me alive and sane through the surreal experiences of the past few years. It has connected me to Spirit. It has given me something to focus on outside of myself—something that will help others and give meaning to my own suffering. It has allowed me to express many parts of myself—the creative artist, the compulsive worker, the methodical organizer, the cerebral innovator.


When faced with an illness as harsh as MCS, it is easy to lose faith in the world, in your God, in yourself. Everything has failed you: your body, the medical system, your friends and family, your environment—the whole world and universe. Planet Thrive has been an opportunity for me to believe in myself in a way I have never before and to take back some control over my health and my world.


There is a quote by Rumi: The spiritual path wrecks the body and afterwards restores it to health. It destroys the house to unearth the treasure, and with that treasure, builds it better than before.


Planet Thrive has been the mortar that I am rebuilding my house with.



10. If you were a superhero, what would be your superhero name?


Well, a while back I actually created some superheros and it’s hard to choose one. My names are Luna, Kaia, Electra, and Centaur.





Thank you, Julie for sharing your story. All the best in your work to help people and the earth to thrive.



Create your own superhero character with the Hero Machine Generator
http://www.ugo.com/channels/comics/heroMachine/classic.asp